Soil Toxicity in Antarctic Dry Valleys

of 1967-1968 have been examined at the Jet Propul sion Laboratory to determine their toxicity. During a traverse made with Prof. Robert E. Benoit of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 18 soil samples were collected at depths up to four inches near the head of the Matterhorn Glacier in the Asgard Range (Fig. 2), on a ridge east of Rhone Glacier at 1,867 m, and in an intersecting east-west valley that extends from the Matterhorn to Lake Bonney in Taylor Valley at an elevation of 107 m. Two additional samples, nos. 632 and 639, were obtained on the northern side of the Asgard Range, above Wright Valley. Soil Toxicity in Antarctic Dry Valleys1 ROY E. CAMERON, CHARLES N. DAVID, Figure 1, Location of antarctic soil-sample sites. and JONATHAN KING The soils were collected aseptically by techniques Bioscience Section developed for sampling and handling desert soils Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Cameron et al, 1966). Microbiological analyses California Institute of Technology were performed by methods previously reported for samples from this region (Boyd et al., 1966; Soils collected in various dry valleys (Fig. 1) of Cameron, 1967). southern Victoria Land during the antarctic summer Soil Toxicity Test 1This paper presents the results of one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California All samples were kept frozen until analyzed. Micro Institute of Technology, under contract no. NAS 7-100, biological analyses were performed on the 18 samples sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis tration. Logistic support and facilities for the portion of while they contained the in situ moisture. All other the study performed in Antarctica were arranged by the analyses were performed on air-dried and sieved or Office of Antarctic Programs, National Science Foundation. powdered aliquots. The results of some of the an- Unfavorable Environments A fourth soil, no. 632 (Fig. 1), collected in King Valley* in the Asgard Range, was also tested for soil toxicity because it yielded no microorganisms by cul ture techniques. This soil was combined with viable sample no. 639, collected below the junction of King and David Valleys*. It was not toxic, since the bac teria count per gram of soil was essentially the same for no. 639 as for nos. 639 + 632. This test indicates that in some cases factors other than chemistry are important πν limiting the numbers of microorganisms in these soils. Unfavorable environmental factors in (U.S. Navy Photo) clude primarily poor exposure and slope, low level Figure 2. Soil sample site 661· 662, beside Matterhorn Gla and duration of solar-radiation influx, desiccating cier, As gar d Range. winds, and very low moisture supply. Favorable and unfavorable ecological factors in antarctic dry valleys have been discussed previously (Cameron et al, alyses of cultures of various groups of microflora 1968). have been presented previously (Cameron et al, This study suggests that toxicity is responsible for 1968). the absence or near absence of microorganisms in For this study, five grams of three soils believed to three antarctic soil samples. Unfavorable environ be toxic (nos. 664, 668, and 678) were mixed with ments have also been shown to be responsible for the five grams of viable sample no. 662 in 40 cm3 of dis absence of microorganisms even when the soils had tilled waten Aliquots of appropriate serial dilutions favorable physical and chemical properties. Both eda- were then pipetted onto the surface of Petri dishes phic and environmental (microclimatic and topo containing either trypticase soy agar or simulated graphic) factors must be considered in attempts to Taylor Valley soil extract enrichment agar to give explain the presence or absence of life in antarctic final dilutions of 1:10, 1:50, and 1:500. Spread soils. For the purposes of detecting life on Mars and plates were then prepared in triplicate and the organ isms incubated at 20° C. for three weeks, following which the plates were examined with an illuminated # Unofficial names. Quebec counter. Ten grams of each soil was cultured separately for comparison. The numbers of bacteria found on the agar plates Abundance of bacteria in Asgard Range soils upon conclusion of the test are given in the table. Values for the mixed samples were adjusted to 10 g of Colony count (per gram of soil) soil. As indicated in the table, the mixing of viable Sott no. Simulated Taylor sample no. 662 with each of the three soils believed Trypticase toy agar Valley toil extract enrichment agar' to be toxic resulted in significant reductions in the expected count of the viable sample ( about 30-70 Actual Expected Actual Expected percent on trypticase soy agar and about 80-90 per 662 52,500 85,000 cent on the simulated Taylor Valley soil extract en 604 0 0 richment agar). 608 15 10 678 5 20 Chemical analyses of the four soils showed that nos. 630 72,500 74,000 632 0 0 664, 668, and 678 contained higher concentrations of Test Soils; water-soluble cations and anions than no. 662. In 662 + 6G4 18,500 » 52,500 7,800* 85,000 6024-068 33,000 » 52,500 16,500* 85,000 order of abundance, these ions included chloride, 662 + 678 17,000* 52,500 15,100* 85,000 sulfate, sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and 63!)+ 032 77,000* 72,500 68,000* 74,000 nitrate. The microelement boron was present at levels iAn anal ye Ii was made of Taylor Valley toil extract prepared of 7-16 ppm, which could definitely present a toxicity by Prof. Robert E. Benolt. On the basis of this analysis, and the Taylor Valley soil extract enrichment used successfully by Prof. problem (Stout and Johnson, 1957). Of nearly all the Benoit, the following medium was prepared: soils tested chemically, no. 664 had the least favorable CaS04 0.2 g Neopeptone 6 g K.HPO« 0.1 g Yeast extract 1 * chemical properties, although in terms of physical NaCl 0.0S g Agar 16 g properties (i.*., texture, moisture, and porosity) it NaNO, 0.03 g Dist HfO 1 1 MgCl, 0.03 g was one of the most favorable collected in the antarc * Compensated to approximate original 10-g sample; i.e.» results tic dry valleys. are based on δ-g sample χ 2 for viable test soil. 165 avoiding contamination of the planet's surface by ter- restial microorganisms, similar soil and environmental factors should be considered. References Boyd, W. H., J. T. Staley, and J. W. Boyd. 1966. Ecology of soil microorganisms of Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 8: 125-159. Cameron, R. E., J. King, and C. N. David. 1968. Soil micro- bial and ecological studies in southern Victoria Land. Ant• arctic Journal of the U.S., 11(4): 121-123. Cameron, R. E. 1967. Soil Studies—Desert Microflora: XIV, Soil Properties and Abundance of Microflora from a Soil Profile in McKclvey Valley, Antarctica. California Institute of Technology. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Programs Summary 37-44, vol. IV, p. 224-236. Cameron, R. E., G. B. Blank, and D. R. Gensel. 1966. Sampling and Handling of Desert Soils. California Insti• tute of Technology. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Technical Report 32-908. 37 p. Stout, P. R. and C. M. Johnson. 1957. Trace elements. In: Soil, Yearbook of Agriculture, p. 139-150. .

Load more